Stolen // One Piece

chapter six

It was now dusk, and each crew member was off doing their own thing; Franky designed new weapons, Robin read her new books, Zoro trained in the observatory, Brook played his violin as he sat on the deck railing, Sanji cooked dinner, Chopper organized his herbs, Usopp wrote another letter to Kaya, Nami hunched over her sea charts, and Luffy sat, once more, on the head of the Thousand Sunny.

A slight breeze carried through the air, ruffling Luffy's hair. He sighed, remembering how Ace had done the same thing whenever Luffy had done something stupid or innocent. His chest felt tight as he recalled a previously buried memory that had surfaced in the battle at Marineford.

"Do you see the sunset, Luffy?" Ace had asked. Luffy, lying face down on the grass of the cliff looking over the ocean, huffed and rolled over, and then sat up. He looked.

"Yes," he said, irritated that Ace had changed the subject. They were originally discussing Ace's family, but at the mention of his father, Gold D. Roger, Ace had said nothing for a short time, and then pointed out the colors of the dusky sky.

"Do you see the red?"

"Yes."

"The orange? The yellow?"

"Yes and yes. Why?"

"I think they mean something."

"What?" The younger boy was confused, how could a sunset mean something?

"I think the sky likes to tell us, at the end of every day, is a new day."

"You make no sense," Luffy huffed, laying down again.

The two laid together on the cool grass, simply watching the sun go down. The smell of salt carried in the air.

Silence lingered between them.

"Do you think Sabo's watching over us?" Luffy asked suddenly. Ace nodded.

"That's what brothers do. They watch over each other." Luffy looked at the older boy, and nodded in agreement.

"I miss him."

"Me too," Ace sighed.

It had been seven years since that evening, and since then, Luffy had learned what Ace meant about the sunset's meaning.

"It means we can start again, and that the past doesn't affect us," the boy whispered into the wind. He wished that was the case, but everyday seemed like the same without Ace. Even now that he knew Sabo was alive, he still felt like he was trapped in an endless cycle of agony. His nightmares constantly haunted his mind, and even though he went on adventures with his crew almost every day, something that usually excited him, he often got bored of them.

Tears streamed down his face. When had he started crying? He wiped his face on his sleeve and stretched. His tears would not stop.

Sanji had called everyone for dinner, but Luffy had been so involved in his thoughts he did not hear. So, the others stood on the deck a fair distance away, and watched their captain quietly. He wiped his eyes again, and held his hat over his face. The sun had long gone down, and stars hung overhead. The moon rose slowly, but it was full, and filled the sky with moonlight.

Luffy's shoulders shook as he sobbed silently.

Not one of the crew moved to help. They didn't know how to help him. Usopp had to turn his head away, for he too started crying.

Luffy sniffed, still shaking.

Zoro motioned silently for everyone to leave him be, and walk to the kitchen.

Luffy heard their footsteps, and wished one of them would stay, but continued crying.

Nami had stayed behind, for she had won a mute argument with Zoro over Luffy's sadness.

She walked slowly to her captain, and stopped. Carefully, she placed her hand on his back, standing on her tiptoes to reach. He jerked at her touch, and almost fell off the lion head. He caught himself at the last moment, and turned to look at who had stayed. His hands clutched his hat in his lap.

"N-Nami?"

"Need some company?" she asked. Luffy wiped his eyes and nodded.

"Please," he whispered. Nami felt her heart squeeze how sad he sounded. She nodded and reached her hand out. He took it, and hopped onto the deck. The two walked hand in hand to the grassy area of the Sunny, and his tears still streamed down his face.

Sitting down on the grass, she asked him, "Will you be okay?" He shook his head after a long moment of contemplation. He sat on the grass beside her, and wiped his eyes. Nami nodded.

"Thanks," he said after a while. He took Nami's hand again, and hiccuped. The orange-haired girl looked at him, and gently wiped his eyes free of tears. He sighed at her touch, warm and soft, and leaned into her cupped hand. She smiled.

Cute, she thought to herself.

The two laid down and stared at the stars.